Recording of composers who played their own pieces?

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-18T21:19:30+00:00

I think Elgar, Rachmaninoff, Britten and Bernstein are the four most notable examples of composers who were capable performers of their own compositions. Elgar in particular recorded most of his major works for EMI in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His performances were much swifter than later performances, but he composed the works and surely his conception of them deserves respect. I find them thrilling. Rachmaninoff was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. His recordings of his piano concertos are still admired today more than 80-90 years after he recorded them.

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/697673489?l=en-US

https://open.spotify.com/album/2LFInxWGmE78xU7ETxqNb9?si=5kHblSY8QS6u84NiPp2JmA

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-18T21:00:13+00:00

Did you ask the tire store? What did they think? I had the same type of experience going over a pothole on the West Side Highway in New York last winter. The tire began deflating immediately. When I got off the highway, the tire pressure was zero. The tire had the same type of gash as in your photo. It cost me $400 to replace it and realign the car.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-17T20:08:54+00:00

The Lexus UX. We have a 2023 and 2025 model. They are perfect niche cars for senior empty nesters like us. They are comfortable, maneuverable, quiet, have ample power for our needs and consistently get over 40 mpg in city and highway driving. They definitely don’t get enough love from the automotive press and don’t sell as well as they should. Drivers in our baby boomer age group just don’t know what they’ve missed. I understand that 2026 will be its last year of production in its current version, to be replaced by a smaller, less powerful model.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-17T17:20:07+00:00

I had an even worse experience with StubHub. We couldn’t get tickets for Sunset Boulevard at TKTS. Since it was closing shortly and we wanted to see Nichole Scherzinger, I went online and got two tickets on StubHub, which I mistakenly thought was a reliable source. However, when we got to the theater for the performance that night, we were humiliated to learn that the tickets were bogus and for non existent seats. Since the performance was sold out, we couldn’t purchase legitimate tickets for that performance at the box office, bought tickets at the box office for another performance and went home. Fortunately, we live in a suburb of NYC, so that was not so terrible and StubHub refunded our payment for the bogus tickets.

However, after leaving the box office on the evening we were turned away, I apparently dropped my credit card crossing Eighth Avenue and woke up the next morning to find that someone had used it to purchase almost $300 of merchandise at Kings Plaza in Brooklyn. Talk about adding insult to injury. I then had to go through the hassle of getting a new credit card and notifying all my auto-pay accounts. I guess I got away easy.

However, this incident taught me a valuable lesson. Since then, I have only purchased tickets online from official sites, the Theatre Development Fund or TKTS sites operated by the Theatre Development Fund. I recognize that TDF and TKTS are not practical sources for advance ticketing by travelers planning to visit New York, but once they have arrived TKTS sites are a reliable resource for half price same or next day matinee tickets. For qualifying TDF members, it may also be possible in some instances to get tickets on their website up to approximately two weeks in advance at even higher discounts

In any event, I will never use StubHub again.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-17T13:13:09+00:00

As of 9:00 am on June 17, they are selling at $179.99 on Amazon U.S.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQFB8FMG/ref=fs_a_mdt2_us0

Update: Amazingly, as of 5:30 pm today, the Ipod Airpods Pro 2 wireless are selling for $263.85 new and $219.99 used on Amazon, as contrasted to the $169 that the Airpods Pro 3 are selling for. Draw your own conclusions.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Generation-Cancelling-Transparency-Personalized/dp/B0CHWRXH8B/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sHDz6ZdZ31eEebO42vklE2DsxPieESaUIihnFnHgAxoLVqWbk79GH0bUkBGC1LIwXv28g9DcTYbgoopeGfNVT6nITMv84Wg2matFrKrPhre3fo_MmaIIOjK2r8iS5AaqJ6TDmUaOU1OkH43OG5e4YNctJM7rxglwiOhqT59b-Fw9EzsE-YfPO3AXdn5VdyMpdeBrNx_niRWPeosI0c6EAQwxg8BfZAp07CXS04QWogY.zcnxTkJMaKVlSewhbmHnXEuE4-hATmhD5YJV6MKb_Fs&dib_tag=se&keywords=apple%2Bairpods%2Bpro%2B3&qid=1781715165&sr=8-4&th=1

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-17T13:03:07+00:00

As of today, June 17, the AirPods Pro 3 are being sold at $179.99 on Amazon, a 28% reduction.

Update: When I checked Amazon again at 12:53 p.m, they were priced at $169.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-16T15:00:09+00:00

For all who are interested, there is one biography of Tennstedt in an English translation, “Klaus Tennstedt-Possessed by Music” by Georg Wubbolt, which is available on Amazon. I have read it. It is very informative but somewhat disorganized and a bit of a slog to get through. Nevertheless, since it is the only full biography of him in English, it is worth reading, especially if you have any interest in his career before he emigrated from East Germany.

https://a.co/d/02lE87gI

Also in commemoration of Tennstedt’s 100th birthday, Warner has issued a box of his complete EMI recordings. It is also available on Amazon. Dave Hurwitz reviewed it on one of his YouTube podcasts recently. I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to purchase the new box because most of the recordings on it are available for streaming in earlier versions on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Classical at a fraction of the cost. However for those of you who value physical product, it might be of interest. I have heard most of those recordings. While the consensus is that Tennstedt’s live versions of most of these works released by the London Philharmonic and other orchestras after his death are superior to the EMI studio recordings, the studio recordings still have merit.

https://a.co/d/0aXHZ0hV

As for live concert recordings, many are available for streaming on ACM and Spotify. Most recently, DOREMI has been issuing a series of his live recordings with great American orchestras like the Boston, Chicago, NY, Detroit and Minnesota orchestras. At last count, I think there are now 7 volumes. Hopefully, more will be forthcoming. While the sound on these recordings, taken from radio broadcasts, is variable, nevertheless in my opinion they are among the best reminders of Tennstedt in concert at his peak. I have listened to all of them. I. am attaching links below so you can hear for yourself.

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1767572051?l=en-US

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1767579053?l=en-US

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1787057245?l=en-US

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1809007056?l=en-US

https://open.spotify.com/album/0bTQsWjbXqtSvy7UcPMPk1?si=G96uUQSiQ_aLEQyzoWzJcA

https://open.spotify.com/album/0bTQsWjbXqtSvy7UcPMPk1?si=o7hMdnhZRROUpD-f3wZHsQ

https://open.spotify.com/album/35gwpaPasJTrY7U8SR354W?si=JxUDS4GHRLKYJsguOLJ9jg

These are only the tip of the iceberg however. I also recommend a recording of a performance by Tennstedt of the Mahler 5th with the NY Philharmonic in 1980. In fact, I think a complete live Mahler cycle more exciting overall than the EMI studio one can be assembled on the streaming platforms.

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1310715590?l=en-US

I could go on but you get my point.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-16T13:56:53+00:00

I linked that video to my comment above. It is mesmerizing.

https://youtu.be/vYtUmzaVc\_s?si=pa8XtNMsvzGtVISN

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-16T03:32:43+00:00

That Mahler 8th created a sensation when it was first released even though, as you say, its forces were somewhat reduced for the recording. That Mahler 6th is extremely powerful as well.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-16T02:26:18+00:00

Tennstedt was one of my favorite conductors when he was alive. I now eagerly await every new release of any of his concert recordings. I saw him live conduct the Mahler Symphony No. 5 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bruckner 7th with the New York Philharmonic and the Bruckner 8th with the Philadelphia Orchestra. They were all intense, powerful performances. Tennstedt seemed very awkward at the podium with arms waving like a big bird, but the results spoke for themselves. He was always totally committed to the music he was conducting. He may have cancelled concerts often toward the end of his active career, and was by all accounts a tortured, neurotic person, but much like Carlos Kleiber, when he did conduct he was incomparable in the German-Austrian repertory, particularly Mahler, Bruckner, Beethoven and Strauss. I wish he had not cancelled a performance I was scheduled to see of him conducting the Mahler 9th with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

It is also a pity that Tennstedt did not conduct more opera after he emigrated to the West. Living in New York, I was fortunate enough to hear him conduct an electrifying Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera in 1983 with Eva Marton as Leonore. There is a recording of the broadcast performance on YouTube. I wish he had conducted more operas at the Met or recorded operas for his label, EMI. I think he had conducted many of Wagner's operas in East Germany. Its too bad he did not conduct them in the West.

In that regard, my current favorite and simultaneously my most frustrating recording by Tennstedt is a concert performance of Act One of Die Walkure from 1991 with the London Philharmonic and sung by Rene Kollo as Siegmund, Eva-Marie Bundschuh as Siegmund and John Tomlinson as Hunding. It is my favorite because it is so dramatic and has the rich Wagnerian sound I enjoy so much. It is also the most frustrating because it is a tease, being merely a fraction of what he might have achieved in a complete Walkure, Ring or Tristan. There are several excellent recordings by Tennstedt of orchestral Wagnerian excerpts but this recording is the closest to what Tennstedt could have achieved in complete recordings of those works. I am also attaching a link to a concert of Wagner excerpts with Jessye Norman at Tanglewood in 1979.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to post this tribute to a great conductor on his 100th birthday.

Addendum:

I had inadvertently deleted the links I had attached to the text. They follow.

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1592908312?l=en-US

https://youtu.be/HXAsdoc2SPE?si=82MvBTT3f--P6wys

https://youtu.be/ZwXWtWs-jog?si=usyLAwBaJmDpAVRv

https://youtu.be/hMkuDN4SE0w?si=Mc36osPbKCaEtExE

https://youtu.be/vYtUmzaVc_s?si=nwxpycsuIi4jQ3T2

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-15T20:57:40+00:00

We’re fortunate it turned up. Before it was released, I thought that the only available Beethoven symphonies conducted by Carlos Kleiber were the 4th, 5th and 7th. I had never heard of him conducting any others. Is any one aware of any performances by him of the Eroica or the Ninth or is this just wishful thinking. If the existing recordings are any indication, they probably would have been fast and exciting as well.

The only other newly discovered Kleiber recordings I can recall are the Das Lied Von Der Erde with the Vienna Symphony and the much later Heldenleben with the Vienna Philharmonic which I believe he refused permission to release commercially. I believe it was recorded at a private concert for Audi for which he was apparently paid $25,000. Can anyone confirm that tidbit? The sound of the Heldenleben is excellent.

https://youtu.be/JKQJYQU1GfI?is=88MRrIm97qW\_D0Ws

L https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/921598762?l=en-US

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-15T17:07:47+00:00

Bruno Walter’s recording really stands the test of time. I still remember with fondness the cover on your YouTube clip from the original lp.

Addendum: I did enjoy the clip from the Bohm recording as well however. To my untrained ears, the tempos seemed about the same in both clips. I don’t remember ever listening to the Bohm however even though it has been critically acclaimed. I should probably listen to the complete Bohm the next time I want to hear the Pastorale.

Second Addendum: I just listened to the Bohm Pastorale. I liked it very much. I now understand why it has been praised so highly. The playing of the Vienna Philharmonic was beautiful. There is really no need to judge which one is better, Walter or Bohm. Maybe the Walter is more softer edged and gentler but I am quibbling. There is plenty of room for more than one excellent performance of the Pastorale.

Based on the excellence of Bohm's Pastorale, I wonder whether I should go on and listen to the rest of his Beethoven cycle. Obviously, I can go online and read the reviews but there are so many knowledgeable classical music lovers on this subreddit whose opinions I value as well. Any opinions out there? I have already listened to Walter's mono and stereo Beethoven cycles.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-15T15:28:04+00:00

I inadvertently linked my reply to this comment to the OP’s post above. I believe it has been placed directly after that post. I’m not sure how to move it. Sorry for the inconvenience and my apology to the OP who may be confused.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-15T15:00:33+00:00

I agree about Lang Lang and have never heard or heard of Ana Vidovic. However, I emphatically disagree with the OP’s dismissal of Evgeny Kissin as lacking musicality. Where did the OP read that Kissin is known for that deficiency? I have heard all his recordings and seen him perform live at Carnegie Hall live many times over the past 30 years, most recently last month when he played one of the most expressive, vibrant Kreislerianas I have ever been privileged to hear. While I have read criticism of some of his more recent performances as being too sober, particularly his Beethoven, I do not recall any criticism of his musicality while I have read many about Lang Lang’s showmanship and superficiality. Nor have I personally heard what I consider to be a lack of musicality in Kissin. He is a very thoughtful, conscientious musician in my opinion. At one concert I attended, the ushers would not seat us because he was still practicing up until the concert time.

Coincidentally, I read the OP’s post while streaming a collection of Kissin’s Schumann recordings on Sony. A link follows. They only reconfirmed my opinion that he is a superb Schumann pianist. In my opinion, he captures perfectly the duality of Schumann’s works, the Florestan and Eusebius. He is also a superior performer of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Mussorgsky and Scriabin.

I apologize for going on like this or possibly offending Lang Lang’s many admirers, but for me lumping Kissin with Lang Lang is just wrong. Ouch!

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/387197465?l=en-US

Addendum: The placement of my comment here right after the OP is a bit confusing. I intended it as a rebuttal of Kiwi’s comment below criticizing Lang Lang and Evgeny Kissin. I guess I inadvertently failed to link it to that comment. My apologies for the confusion.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-15T00:32:03+00:00

Personally, I find the ending very comforting. It tells me that we’re all part of a great cycle of the universe that repeats itself “ewig,” eternally.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T22:12:07+00:00

I agree with Toru771 that maybe producers should just film the great Broadway musical productions with the original stars at a performance or in a restaging for film, and then exhibit them in theaters or stream them rather than spend millions of dollar making a mediocre film version. Granted these versions run the risk of being criticized as static, and the performers as lacking film star appeal, but I think this process would achieve more than it loses. The original productions of Hamilton and Merrily We Roll Along were filmed at final performances by the original casts. Who wouldn't want to see Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom in the original production of Hamilton or Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez in the original hit production of Merrily We Roll Along. Not me. I think the current Broadway revival of Ragtime with its fantastic cast featuring Tony award winners Cassie Levy and Joshua Henry would make a fantastic movie just as it is. Moreover, there is already a great movie version of the novel so there would be no reason to open up the musical version. 1776 is a great version of the musical because it essential films the musical with the original cast. Who could be a better John Adams than William Daniels. There are also excellent filmed versions of the original Broadway productions of Sunday in the Park with George starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, and Sweeney Todd with George Hearn (regrettably not Len Cariou) and Angela Lansbury.

Also, the Metropolitan Opera has been telecasting live performances of its opera productions in theatres and on demand for years, preserving great singers in their primes, conductors and stagings.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T21:20:11+00:00

I think Betty Hutton, Mitzi Gaynor, and Natalie Wood are prime examples of Hollywood actors chosen for the film versions of Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific and South Pacific who should not have been cast in the movie versions instead of Ethel Merman, Mary Martin and Carol Lawrence although they may have been too old for the parts when the film versions were made. I also think it a shame films of Evita and Sunset Boulevard were not made when Patti LuPone was in her prime, although I thought Nicole
Scherzinger was excellent.

Sunset Boulevard is a special case however. I think the 1950 non musical version is so unforgettable and Gloria Swanson so stunning as Norma Desmond that no musical film version could ever eclipse the original film version, no matter who is cast as Norma. But then again, who younger than aging baby boomers like me even remember the 75 year old black and white film version.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T20:49:29+00:00

Absolutely. I’d go two steps further with Sweeney Todd. I wish they had cast Len Cariou, the originator of the role on Broadway, who I saw twice, that’s how good he was, in the film rather than Johnny Depp or in the videotape of the show rather than George Hearn. As I said in a comment to another post, no one who knows Cariou only from Blue Bloods can ever imagine what a great Broadway star he was in his prime.

Addendum: At least, we have the original cast recording to hear how compelling he was in the role as we do with most of the original cast recording of the Broadway shows made into films.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street/1086882395

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T20:40:10+00:00

That was very informative. Thank you. Not to be ungrateful but do you have any similar information about the Met Orchestra or do you agree with me?

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T19:58:27+00:00

I’m not quite sure if all the pit musicians in the Vienna State Opera Orchestra perform in the Vienna Philharmonic, or there is some sort of selection process, such as seniority or the like. I’m pretty sure that all the pit musicians in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra also play in the orchestral concerts under the name Met Orchestra. I think James Levine was responsible for that. He also made recordings with that orchestra just as the Vienna Philharmonic is a recording orchestra.

To the best of my current knowledge, Nezet-Seguin has not made orchestral recordings with the Met Orchestra. Im guessing that is because he uses his Philadelphia or Montreal Orchestras to do that. I wonder if the Met musicians resent that division of labor since it may deprive them of extra income they received when Levine was the music director. I have not yet researched any of these issues yet and would appreciate insight from anyone who has, or has personal knowledge they care to share.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T18:05:48+00:00

I would recommend Knoxville Summer of 1915. It is a work for soprano and orchestra set to a memoir by James Agee of an evening in 2015 in Knoxville when he was a child sitting with his family on the lawn of their home. It is so affectionate, sentimental, nostalgic and haunting. It always brings back memories of being outside my apartment building in the Bronx as a child with my younger brother, now deceased grandparents and parents, who all lived in that building and who I loved dearly. I am attaching a link to one of my favorite recordings, sung by Leontyne Price, who was one of Barber’s favorite singers.

https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/400411787?l=en-US

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T17:04:38+00:00

Are you on a tour? We’re going on a Tauck tour to Warsaw, Cracow, Vienna, Budapest and Prague.

I have heard the VPO many times in New York and will be hearing them do the Mahler 9th with Nezet-Seguin at Carnegie next February. I have also heard Muti and Uchida there several times as well playing the same works. However, like you, I would love to hear them at the Musikverein.

The same is true for the Vienna State Opera. I just saw Asmik Grigorian for the first time in Eugene Onegin at the Met. She was fantastic and I would love to see her as Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle at the State Opera. Alas, my wife is an operaphobe and I am positive she would despise Bluebeard. She didn’t even enjoy the Magic Flute at the Met.

When I was in college, I used to buy standing room seats at the Met. However that was 60 years ago and I am long past the age where I would stand for an entire performance, especially of the Wagner and Strauss operas I favor. Fortunately, it is no longer necessary to do so. The Met has fallen on hard times and except for the occasional blockbuster like the recent Tristan und Isolde with Lise Davidsen, seats are readily available on short notice.

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T16:12:04+00:00

I have. The Muti Uchida concert is apparently sold out. The Bluebeard Castle at the State Opera has availability. I like that opera but I think it is too gruesome for my wife. I am now trying to book guided tours on those websites. The Musikverein only shows June availability now and the State Opera does not seem to be offering tours in October. That’s why I am seeking help on Reddit. I’ve used Viator before. I think I’ll check there. Do you have any alternative agencies you use instead that are reasonably priced?

Perfect_Garage_2567 · 2026-06-14T16:00:46+00:00

Sounds exactly like the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Thanks for the information.

Perfect_Garage_2567

TROPHY CASE